June 6, 2012
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made one of the most powerful speeches in history on August 28, 1963, when he stood on the steps of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. Among the many wonderful things that he said there was something that always stood out to me, which was this : “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…….I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”
I would like to add to this thought, by taking the line “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” and say that I myself have a dream that “one day the disabled will live in a world where they will not be judged by their physical/ mental disability but by the content of their character”! God is making it happen already!
These last two weeks I have had the honor and privilege of hosting two successful art shows that featured the work of some disabled artists at Riverwalk here in village. The first art show was on the twenty sixth of May and the students from the Thuoboswa Rehab Center of Ramotswe came to present their work. 5 boys and one girl participated. Some of them had cerebral palsy and others had Down syndrome, but they were all excited to be there in public showing their work. They brought all kinds of artistic crafts, including quilts, dyed clothes, African traditional leather garments, etc. We decided that I would show my notecards at the same time, to just give the students some courage to be seen publicly in this way, and to show them that I am not “above” them, or different from them, but just one with them. I think that was helpful to the kids who otherwise were a little shy about doing this.
The Spar worker who helped us set things up was a nice, fiery South African redhead named Joey, who herself is very interested in working to change lives for those how are disabled. She had all the tables arranged so that we were all under the shade but so that everyone who came to shop could see our work. She also made a large sign for us about what we were doing! She was so helpful, and kept calling people to look at the work, which allowed us to share our testimonies with many people. We told passersby that we are eager for others to realize that our disabilities do not define who we are. One purpose of these shows was to affirm publicly that God created us all in his image…so when we speak about God’s “image,” it cannot have anything to do with how we look or what we can accomplish compared to others. It is much more truly about something else – the human ability to love. When the news reporter, Rachel Ngama from Global Post came, we all shared these thoughts with her. None of the young people were afraid to talk about God, or Jesus’ love for them, and I was so very pleased with that! The students loved having the event and were really encouraged to see how many people bought their work and acknowledged their abilities. One person came up to us and said, “I wish that we could scratch out the dis in disability because disability does not mean inability!” People are beginning to really understand this!
The next Saturday we had another art show at Super Spar but this time the students were not able to come because their bus driver had to attend a funeral for a family members who’d recently died. At first it seemed we needed to cancel the show, but then a woman who is a member of the Anglican Women’s Fellowship, who has a deformed right hand but makes beautiful jewelry decided that she wanted to participate in this show, so we went ahead with it anyway. Her name is Flora, she is 40 years old and has 2 children. She is a very kind lady, not very tall but thin, and walks with a little limp. She wears her hair in tight braids and her smile is always spread across her face! The light of God shone through her golden brown eyes. She arrived early, and since there were no other artists that day besides the two of us, we had to set up only one table. this was great, because we had plenty of room which allowed us to sit side by side and talk. We had a lot of fun, and laughed a lot. Flora kindly said she was impressed with my Setswana, and said she would like to help me become even more fluent. I immediately took her up on that offer, and we are going to start sometime next week! We also had a lot of customers and interested people who just wanted to talk. Many of the youth from St. Michael’s came to support us as well.
Another cool thing that happened this week is that the lady I’m helping from Princess Marina hospital (the one who lost her arms and legs) Malebogo, took a field trip! She has been missing her children who have not seen her since her surgeries because they live in Molepolole, which is a pretty good distance and her family cannot afford to bring them to the clinic. Malebogo misses her own kids very, very much, so I thought it would be wonderful for her to go out and meet the kids at the daycare where I have spent so much time. I hoped that this would be an encouragement to her also, because I knew that the staff and others would totally accept her as she is now. So on Monday morning Esther and I picked Malebogo and her husband and drove them to St. Peter’s. On the way, we spoke only Setswana which Melebogo and I both enjoyed very much, especially when she laughed at my funny accent! Apparently it is quite entertaining! When we got to St.Peter’s I was amazed at how easily and immediately the children especially the four year olds welcomed Malebogo and her husband. It was so precious to watch the children just take one of her arms and greet her, just exactly the way they do to me, and because they knew how to approach me, they did the same with her! Gladys Mudereri (the director of the daycare) kept taking photos of Malebogo with the kids using both of our cameras, for which I was very grateful. I felt that it was important for the children to see more disabled people, and I wanted Malebogo and her husband to be encouraged by their welcome, to help her see that despite everything, God is with her and giving her new hope. She knows she has lost her limbs, but not her life! She will be okay, and people ARE seeing her for the content of her character (which is beautiful!)
I have had a few days of skin rash and then sleepiness due to the medicine they gave me for the rash, and then another sort of stomach upset, so it has mostly been a quiet week at home. I needed that anyway, and have been working a lot on my university papers, especially the ethnography. I so much enjoy learning more and more about the people I am coming to love so deeply. They are always totally gracious, but I wish this semester abroad requirement were for a whole year! I need a lot more time then we have to know this culture well enough not to be constantly making mistakes!
It is getting very cold at night now, almost freezing some nights. There is no indoor heat in most places, so the daycare children are all wearing sweaters, coats and hats to class. Their smiles and laughter keep us all warm though! (See? Even when I am not there I am thinking of them!)
I cannot believe that in just over a month I will have to leave my new home and return to Missouri – which does not really feel like home anymore. Already I am seeing how much I will miss the children – all my friends from the Anglican Youth Fellowship - Malebogo – Esther – Gladys – Susan – James and Diana – well, all the people I have come to know and love here. Botswana is the home of my heart, even if I have to leave for awhile. God has blessed me here with joys and challenges beyond anything I dreamed. I have a whole new set of fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers in Jesus. I only pray that I am able to bless them too. Pray for me.
Sala Sentle
Minda
